


Time's Shadow

by Maze316



Category: Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Explorers of Darkness & Explorers of Sky
Genre: Future, Gen, Silly time loops, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:47:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21728515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maze316/pseuds/Maze316
Summary: We know the story of the past. A human in the form of a Pokemon saves the world with the help of their friends. What about the doomed future? Their old friends -- Grovyle and Celebi -- have their own story fit to tell. In the intricate web of time, we explore exactly what happened before the partners traveled back in time, and what happened to the thief.
Kudos: 4





	Time's Shadow

**Author's Note:**

> My take on the events of the game pre-storyline. Canon in the same fanon universe(?) as my other PMD fics because why not!

A pale, calloused hand dipped its fingers into frozen water. For a moment, spirals of water tickled their skin. The ripples drifted and froze again, grey against the red of their hand. They pulled their hand out, shaking it a few times and leaving droplets suspended in the air. Standing, they looked to their companion: a Grovyle.

“Anything?” They articulated their hands to ask the human. Being a Pokemon, his beak would not allow for verbal speech. The two of them developed the next best thing.

“Nope. I think we’re at a dead end,” the human said aloud.

“We can’t be! I thought this river—”

“It’s okay. We’ll keep looking.”

Grovyle sighed and nodded. He wandered back toward the protection of the forest, his human not far behind. Being so out in the open made him feel invisible eyes on them. They could relax, a little, under the protection of the trees.

A few yards in, Grovyle’s head turned. He froze. Gingerly, he reached his arm around his partner’s back. He poked them in the small of their back three times. The human stopped. With a quick scan, the two of them rushed behind some bushes. Their light feet effortlessly and silently trod around the undergrowth.

“What was it?” the human signed to grovyle. They couldn’t see his face through the cover and watched his hands.

“I heard something.”

“What?”

“I don’t know.” A noise barely touched their senses. “There.” Grovyle pointed in its direction.

The human closed their eyes. There was only silence. They could hear Grovyle’s shallow breath. Between the beats of their heart, a sound reached them.

“Sabeleye,” they realized.

“Sounds like it.”

The human held their breath. They could virtually smell blood. The memory of it strangled their gut. The image of sharp claws slicing through flesh like wet paper—

No, no. Focus. They dug their fingernails into the palms of their hands. They listened to the minuscule sounds of their partner. The blood rushing through their ears. They were alive.

“You get away from me!” came a shriek. 

The two of them perked toward the voice. 

“You don’t know who you’re messing with,” a sharp voice claimed. 

The chattering laughter of Sabeleye came from different angles. A branch was severed and hung in the air mid-fall. The human bit their tongue.

“Good luck catching me!” the voice said. Lights pinpricked the spaces between the leaves. Grovyle and the human flinched away. A few yards away, the same lights materialized. Sabeleye scurried toward it. Then, the lights shifted behind them. They stopped and looked around, bewildered. One turned and pointed toward the new sparkles. They gave chase. Grovyle stared up at the lights, his beak gaping. 

The human tapped them on the shoulder. “We should help.”

“Are you crazy? They’ll kill all of us.” Grovyle looked to the dancing lights, and back to the human. “Looks like they have it taken care of.”

“Why don’t they leave?”

“What does it look like they’re doing?”

“I wonder if they can only travel so far.”

Grovyle blinked.

“They could be trying to tire them out. They don’t tire.”

Grovyle sighed.

“We should help.”

Grovyle shook their head. “We have to look out for ourselves,” he signed.

“Hypocrite.”

“If we save the past, it doesn’t matter.”

The human burst out of the bush. They flipped their body around to sign before they turned and rushed toward the lights.

“ _ If _ we save the past,” they retorted.

_ “Hey!” _ Grovyle whispered in his tongue. He hurried after them. Leaves shattered beneath their feet. The sounds of the Sableye grew louder. They knew they were nearby.

“Hi!” Grovyle heard the human say as they went through another bush. “Long time no see!”

Grovyle was seconds behind them. He stuck his head through the scrub. Before them was a riot of Sableye — probably half a dozen — and an unfamiliar pokemon. Their bright pink body clashed against the gray of the canopy. They hovered out of reach of the Sableye; their tiny wings fluttered almost too quickly to see. The creature stopped and looked at the human with wide eyes.

“What are you doing?” the pokemon asked. The Sableye has already locked their eyes onto fresh prey. 

“Hehehe. The human again.”

“We got them this time. Hehehe.”

“Guess what I got!” The human announced. They lifted a bag off their shoulder. With a pull of a rope, they opened the bag wide. They thrust their arms forward and let momentum carry forth its contents. The faint light of the forest scattered across the leaves. Countless shiny things tumbled to the ground. Small shards of glass, beads, scraps of metal, and quartz. 

“Gems!” cried the Sableye. With an energetic jump, the creatures pounced. They hurriedly gathered every piece that shined. Bits were stuffed into their mouths and spit out. The other pokemon were completely forgotten. 

“Hurry!” the human said, and waved the pink pokemon to follow. They snatched Grovyle’s hand and sprinted in the direction from which they came.

Inanimate twigs grabbed at them. Old lacerations were ripped open; new ones were formed. The human barely ducked under a low-hanging branch. Feet were tripped over. They never fell. 

They only stopped when the stitches in their sides were too much to handle.

“I think we’ve lost them.”

“I hope so.”

The human grabbed their knees. They struggled to keep a straight face as they breathed themself ragged.

“Was that the whole bag?” Grovyle asked.

“Yeah.”

“What are we going to do if they find us?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” 

“I’ll look around for shelter.”

“Don’t go too far. I’ll listen for anything suspicious.”

“It’s a plan.” Grovyle took in a deep sigh. They always seemed to endure more than their partner. Yet, he still felt it in his legs.

“Hello!” Came a voice. Grovyle reacted, his razor sharp arms a mere millimeter from a pink throat.

“Woah, woah, it’s me!” The fairy squeaked. “The pokemon you just saved!”

“You startled me,” Grovyle said aloud.

“That’s an understatement! Sheesh.”

“Sorry.”

“I wanted to thank you two for what you did back there! I didn’t know how long I could’ve held them off.”

“You’re welcome.”

“My name is Celebi. What about you two? Wait, can the human understand me?”

“No.”

“I saw your fancy handwork. Tell them!”

Grovyle looked to the human. They translated Celebi’s name, and her thank you.

“You’re welcome,” the human smiled.

“My name is Grovyle,” he said. “This is my partner. I call them Shadow.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you!” Celebi chirped. Grovyle continued to translate for the human autonomously as he spoke.

“Why were the Sabeleye chasing you?” Grovyle asked.

“Oh, those things? I’m guessing it has to do with the fact I traveled through time!”

Grovyle paused. He took a moment to process her words before relaying them to the human. 

“Time travel?” the human gasped. 

“Of course! That’s my special talent. I can travel through time! Just short distances, but I’ve been practicing.” 

The duo stared at her. She blushed.

“What, why are you looking at me like that? I’m sure it’s not that special and unique!”

They simply gaped at each other.

Movement caught the human’s eye. A pink smudge hung in their peripheral vision. Celebi’s shape flickered, and then she disappeared into thin air. 

“Surprise!” yelled the smudge. Grovyle and Shadow jumped. 

“What did you do that for?” Shadow asked.

“Well, you told me to prove it, so I went forward in time, but you said I could’ve just turned invisible for a bit, so I said fine, and went back in time, and here I am!”

“What—”

“I better get back to our conversation. See you in a few minutes!”

Celebi disappeared, only for her doppleganger to reappear in its previous spot. This time, they noticed small pricks of light surrounding her. Grovyle and Shadow looked at each other. Celebi stared at them, still blushing, her head slightly crooked in anticipated.

“Prove it,” Shadow said. 

“Here, watch!” Celebi smiled at them, oblivious. Just as quickly as she came, she left. There was silence. They heard tiny feet scurry nearby. The two of them scanned the area and waited.

“See!” Celebi rematerialized. “Wasn’t that cool?”

“That doesn’t prove anything. You could’ve just turned invisible for a bit,” Shadow said.

“Ugh. Fine! I’ll go back this time.” Celebi just flickered this time. They barely missed it, if it wasn’t for the sparkles she emitted. 

“Do you believe me now?” Celebi asked.

“Yes,” said both her companions. 

“Great. Glad that’s settled.”

“We should find shelter,” Grovyle said. “Then we can talk.” 

\- - -

They found shelter in the hollow of an ancient tree. At one time, it may have towered above the rest of the forest. Its body had once been sheared off, leaving the rotting stump. It hadn’t rotted for long — the belly of it held fast in the absence of time. Its soft flesh came off easily. The human rubbed mealy bark between their fingers as they spoke.

“You said you traveled through time,” they said. “How did you do that?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s something I’ve always been able to do,” Celebi said.

“I haven’t seen Pokemon like you around here,” Grovyle said.

“Nope, as far as I know, I’m one of a kind!” Celebi smiled. 

“What was it like? Did you go to the past? Maybe the future?” Shadow asked.

“This time I went to the past. It’s about as hard as you’d think. This time feels… sticky. It’s hard to get out of. It’s no problem getting to the future, but I’m not even sure if there is a future. I’ve tried a few times, and nothing ever seems different. Not like that’s much of a surprise.”

“But the past? You made it?”

“I finally did!” Celebi beamed. “It took some practice, but I made it.”

Her two companions leaned forward. 

“It’s… I don’t even know how to describe it! You know how my color stands out so much here? It barely does in the past! Everything is bright and full of life! Did you know the trees are green, just like you, Grovyle? And the leaves sway in the wind… Trees really are living things. And it rains! Water pours down from the sky! It makes puddles and rivers and Pokemon gather there and get to know each other. I was far too flighty to stick around. But it was so amazing!”

Shadow’s eyes virtually sparkled with every word. Grovyle, drawn in all the same, looked around in thought.

“If it was so amazing, why did you return?” Grovyle asked.

Celebi’s enthusiasm drooped. She lowered herself from the air and gently set herself on the floor. 

“Because it was the past.” She stared at the dirty floor of the hollow. “I knew it wouldn’t last. I wanted to stay and enjoy the sun. But, as night fell again… I knew there was a day the sun wouldn’t come up again. What kind of person would I be if I just… stayed and let things happen? Watch the world waste away?” 

“So you came back,” Grovyle said.

“I wanted to find others — someone with the sense to want to fix things, too. Because I know I can’t do things on my own. That Primal Dialga…” A large shiver went through her tiny body. “When he sent his agents after me, I knew that it could be possible. If he of all Pokemon was scared, maybe I had a secret weapon.”

Grovyle and Shadow looked at each other. Their gaze was heavy with meaning. With a single nod, they both knew.

“Do you trust us?” Shadow asked.

“What?” Celebi asked. “Trust you?”

“Yes.”

“I mean, you saved my life. How could I not?”

“We believe your story,” Grovyle said. “We want to join up with you.”

Celebi gasped. She looked back and forth between the partners. “Really? You do? Oh my gosh, that makes me so happy! I never thought I’d find anyone to help me!” She popped back into the air. “You seem awfully crafty, Shadow, so do you have any ideas?”

“Shadow is our trump card,” Grovyle responded.

“Oh?”

“They have the Dimensional Scream.”

“Dimensional… Scream?”

“It’s a term we kind of made up,” Shadow laughed. “It’s a special ability I have.”

“So I’m not the only one! What is it?”

“I can see into the past. I can’t travel, of course, but I have visions.”

“How exciting! What do you see?”

“Well, I see…” Shadow looked at Grovyle. “I see things called Time Gears.”


End file.
